Refrigerating apparatus having shelves on door



April 3, 1956 K. K. KEsLlNG 2,740,266

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS HAVING SHELVES ON DOOR Filed March 19, 1953 INVEN TOR. Keith K. Kesling Afforney nited States Patent REFRIGERATIN GAPPARATUS HAVING SHELVES N DOOR Keith K. Keeling, Dayton, Ohio, assignerto General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation oi DelawareApplication March 19, 1953, serial No. 343,322 1 claim. (ci. sz-ss) Thisinvention relates to refrigerator cabinets and particularly to a doorshelf arrangement for such cabinets.

I am aware of the fact that others have provided food receiving storageshelves or ledges on refrigerator cabinet doors. Some of these shelveshave been of the type including a solid or imperforate food supportingbase portion so as to prevent small articles of food or the like placedthereon from falling through the shelf. Door shelves of this type havepresented problems which are diicult to overcome, and are solved only byincreasing the manufacturing cost thereof. One of these problems is thatof spacing the imperforate base portion of a shelf from a smooth innerface of the refrigerator cabinet door so as to permit cold air, cooledby a cooling unit or evaporator of a refrigerating system associatedwith the refrigerator and caused to circulate within the food storagechamber of the refrigerator, to pass around the back of the shelf alongthe inner face of the door in order to carry away warm air as it formsat this point. Others have provided lugs or bosses projecting from'therear edge of the base portion of such shelves for engaging the innerdoor pan or panel to thereby space this portion of a shelf from theinner face of the door and permit air to circulate around the back ofthe shelf. Such lugs or bosses in addition to increasing the cost ofdies employed to form molded plastic shelf doors also frequently becomebroken olf the shelf` in shipment thereof and in handling of the shelfduring assembly to a door. For this reason it has been necessary for themanufacturer of such shelves to provide special shipping cartons toprotect the projecting lugs or bosses thereon from breakage While beingshipped to manufacturers of refrigerators and this also increase thecost of providing such shelves.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved refrigerator cabinetof the type having shelves mounted upon the inner face of the doorthereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel molded plastic doorshelf arrangement for a refrigerator cabinet wherein the necessity offorming spacing studs or bosses on the door shelves, for permitting airto ilow between the inner face of the door and the rear edgeof animperforate or solid article supporting base portion of a door shelf, iseliminated to thereby reduce the cost of such shelves.

A further object of my invention is to provide a molded plastic innerrefrigerator cabinet door pan or panel with a serrated face portion atleast in the vincinity of shelves mounted on the door which in additionto increasing the structural strength of the panel, reducing bowing orwarpage ofthe panel and enhancing the appearance of vthe inner side ofthe door, also provides means for preventing articles supported on thedoor shelves from blocking the circulation of air around the rearportion of a shelf and the articles thereon.

A still further and more specific object of my invention is to mount ashelf in a recess of a refrigerator 2 cabinet door provided with acorrugated inner pan or panel which corrugation forms alternate raisedridges and furrows and to position the rear edge of an imperforate foodsupporting base portion of the shelf adjacent the inner face of the doorso that the rear edge of the shelf base position abuts the ridges and isthereby spaced from the furrows to form a plurality of air passagesbetween the shelf and the inner face of the door for the ow of cold airin the cabinet around the back of the shelf to carry away warm air as itforms adjacent the inner face of the door.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front view of a refrigerator cabinet having my inventionembodied therein and showing the food storage chamber door thereof inopen position;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of therefrigerator disclosed in Figure l and is taken on the line 2-2 thereofshowing the food chamber door in closed position; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged broken sectional View of the refrigeratorcabinet door and a shelf thereon taken on the line 3 3 of Figure l.

Referring to the drawing I show a household refrigerator cabinet,generally represented by the reference character 10 including the usualouter shells or panels i1, an inner metal liner 12 an insulatingmaterial 14 therebetween (see Figure 2). Liner 12 forms the top, bottom,back and side walls of a food storage chamber 16 within cabinet 19. Amachine compartment, closed by the closure member 17, is provided incabinet 1l) below the chamber 16 and this compartment houses arefrigerant translating device of a closed refrigerating systemassociated with the cabinet. Chamber 16 has the usual perforated orreticulated food supporting shelves 18 mounted therein. The closedrefrigerating system also includes a cooling unit or evaporator 19located within the upper portion of chamber 16 to cool and causecirculation of air in the food storage chamber. Evaporator 19 may be ofany suitable type and is preferably of the sheet metal variety formed bysuperimposing an embossed metal sheet upon another metal sheet andbrazing or bonding the two sheets together to provide refrigerantexpansion or evaporating passages therebetween as is now conventionaland well known to those skilled inthe art. Evaporator 19 is preferablyshaped to provide walls of a freezing 0r frozen food storage compartmentin chamber 16 and is provided with a door 21 closing the open frontthereof. The food storage chamber 16 has an access opening pro vided inthe front of cabinet 1Q and a recessed insulated door structure,generally represented by the reference character 22 and to be more fullydescribed hereafter, normally closes the food storage chamber accessopening. Evaporator 19 may be mounted or supported in chamber 16 in anysuitable or conventional manner and a drip tray 23 may be located belowthe same for catching defrost water and conveying this water to a drain.It will be noted that door 21 of evaporator 19 is spaced from therecessed inner face of chamber door 22 to provide a lirst ilue 26therebetween. The top of evaporator 19 is spaced from the top wall ofchamber 16 to provide a second or horizontal flue 27 therebetween. Theback of evaporator 19 is spaced from the chamber back wall to provide athird vertical line 28 at the rear of the evaporator. Evaporator 19 andtray 23 extend substantially entirely across chamber 16 intermediate itsside walls and the spacing thereof from other of the chamber wallsprovides the flues 26, 2 l and 28 for the circulation of air upwardlyaround the evaporator door 21, rearwardly of cabinet 10 through flue 27and downward at the back of chamber 16 through the rear or third flue.Thus air cooled by evaporator 19 and caused to circulate through out thefood storage chamber 16 tiows entirely around the evaporator from frontto rear of therefrigerator cabinet since the drip tray prevents airflowing downwardly in chamber 16 at the sides of the evaporator. Thisair circulation within a refrigerated chamber of a refrigerator cabinethas been previously developed by those skilled in the art so as topermit the mounting of food supporting shelves on the inner face of thefood chamber door in order to cool foods placed on the shelves tosubstantially the same temperature as food products located on thelarger or main shelves within the chamber.

In accordance with my invention the refrigerated food storage chamberdoor construction 22 comprises an outer rectangular substantially rigidmetal pan member 31 hanged inwardly about the periphery thereof as at 22(see Figure 3). An inner door panel 33 has its peripheral edge portions34 located in overlapping relation with and secured to the peripheralliange 32 of outer door pan 31. This inner door panel 33 is preferablyformed of molded plastic material such for example as powdered styrenewhich is heated and forced into a suitable mold` Other materials such aspolyvinyl-acetate or polyvinyl-chloride may be employed to form thisdoor panel if desired. A rubber or the like gasket 36 is provided with aresilient or ilexible sealing bead, adapted to engage the front Wall ofcabinet 18 to close the food chamber 16, and integral leg portionsinterposed between the peripheral edges of pan member 31 and panel 33.The gasket 35 extends entirely around door 22 and a plurality of spacedapart screws or the like 37 pass through openings in panel 33 and thelegs of gasket 36 and are secured to outer pan member 31 of door 22 torigidly clamp panel 33 and gasket 36 thereto. Any suitable or desirableinsulating material 39 is disposed between outer and inner panel or panmembers 31 and 33 of door structure 22. The inner door panel 33 isdished or projected rearwardly of the peripheral edge portions thereofas at 41 to provide a recess in the inner face of door 22. That portionof the molded plastic door panel 33 intermediate the inwardly projectedwall portions 41 thereof is serrated' or corrugated in a verticaldirection at least in the vicinity of shelves adapted to be mounted uponthe inner face of door 22. In the present disclosure the corrugationsextend continuously from the lower to the upper portion of door 22.These serrations or corrugations provide, within the recessed inner faceportion of door 22, alternate raised ridges 43 and furrows 44. Theridges 43 and furrows 44 of the corrugated part of door panel 33 inaddition to reinforcing and/ or increasing the structural strength ofthis panel and preventing wai-page thereof also serves another purposeto be hereinafter more fully described.

I mount a plurality of shelves on the inner side of door structure 22 soas to augment the food supporting area within the refrigerated storagechamber of cabinet 10. The shelves are horizontally disposed on door 22in vertical spaced relation so as to extend transversely to thedirection of extension of the ridges and furrows of the serrations orcorrugations in the recessed portion of door panel 33 and they may belarger or smaller relative to one another as their location on the doorpermits. These shelves may be formed of metal or they may be molded fromthe same material as specified for the molded plastic door panel 33.Each shelf comprises an upright front rail 46, having inturned anges 47at the ends thereof, a substantially horizontal solid or imperforatefood supporting base 48 and a downwardly directed flange 49 at the rearof base 48. End flanges 47 of each shelf are provided with a suitablehole or holes for receiving a mounting stud 51 which passes through ahole or holes provided in an angularly disposed portion of door panel 33intermediate its peripheral edge 34 and its inwardly projecting wallportion 41. The inner end of stud 0r studs 51 receive a suitable lockingclip or fastener 52 which engages and bears against the inner side ofdoor panel 33 (see Figure 3) to rigidly clamp the shelves, at theirends, to the inner face of door 22. Base portion 47 of each of theshelves extends into the recess ofA door 22 and has the rear edgethereof abutting against the raised ridges 43 and spaced from thefurrows 44 of the serrations or corrugations in door panel 33. Theshelves may also be secured, by suitable studs 53 and locking clips S4,similar to the studs 51 and fasteners 52, to door panel 33 at one ormore points intermediate their secured ends. Studs 53 are projectedthrough suitable openings provided in rear flange 49 of door panel 33and the clips or fasteners 54 placed thereover to engage and clampagainst the inner surface of the raised ridges 43 of the corrugated doorpanel.

It is to be noted that in the arrangement disclosed the space betweenthe inner edge of base portion 48 or flange 49 of each shelf and thebottom of furrows 44 of the serrations or corrugations provided in therecessed part of panel 33 provide a plurality of horizontally spacedapart passages along and intermediate the shelf and portions of theinner face of door 22. Air cooled and caused to circulate downwardly, bythe refrigerating elect produced by evaporator 19, in the rear or thirdue 28 into the back portion of food storage chamber 16 flows forwardlywithin this chamber into the recessed part of door 22 and upwardly alongits inner face. This upward circulatingcool air ows through thepassages, formed by the alternate ridges and furrows 43 and 44respectively of the corrugated inner door panel 33 (see Figure 2),around the back of each door shelf to carry away warm air as it tends toform adjacent the inner face of door 22 and particularly behind theshelves. The air owing upwardly at the for- Ward part of chamber 16,both over the front of the shelves and around the back thereof, thenenters the iirst or front flue 26 and is directed into the second orhorizontal ue 27 above evaporator 19. The passages around the back andalong the length of the Shelves cannot become blocked or closed becausethe raised ridges 43 of the serrated o1' corrugated recessed portion ofinner door panel 33 spaces hat sided articles of food or small flatsided packaged food products stored on the shelves from the bottom ofthe furrows 44. Thus circulation of cooling air is insured around theback of the shelves and more important around the back of such llatsided food products thereon as well as over round sided small bottlesand jars or the like.

From the foregoing it should be apparent to those skilled in the artthat my improvement not onlyeliminates the necessity of forming lugs orbosses on the rear edge of refrigerator cabinet door shelves to spacethe same from an inner face of the door for permitting the circulationof air therearound but also provides other features and advantages. Thestructural strength of a molded plastic inner door panel or pan memberis materially strengthened by corrugating or serrating the same toprevent it from bulging and/or warping under temperature changes towhich it is subjected. The corrugating of the recessed door shelfreceiving portion of a Y refrigerator cabinet door in addition tocooperating with the rear edge part of a shelf to provide a plurality ofair passages around the back thereof furthermore prevents hat sided foodproducts stored on the supporting base portion of a shelf from blockingthe flow of air through the passages.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claim whichfollow.

What is claimed is as follows:

In combination, a refrigerator cabinet having afood storage chambertherein provided with an access opening,

a door pivotally mounted on said cabinet for swinging movement relativethereto and normally closing said chamber access opening, means forcooling the interior of said chamber and causing circulation of airtherein, said door including an outer pan-like panel and a onepiecemolded plastic panel forming the inner face thereof exposed to theinterior of said chamber, said one-piece inner panel being attached tosaid outer pan-like panel only at its peripheral edges, a portion ofsaid one-piece inner panel inwardly of its peripheral edges being formedto provide a recess in the inner face of said door, a shelf secured tosaid door and extending across said recess in the inner face thereof,said shelf having an imperforate article supporting base, said innerone-piece molded plastic door panel being corrugated at least along therecess thereof in a direction transverse to the extension of said shelf,said corrugations serving to increase the structural strength of saidone piece molded plastic inner door References Cited inthe ile of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,256,162 Patee Feb. 12, 1918 2,292,365 DeMore Aug. 11, 1942 2,412,904 Money Dec. 17, 1946 2,484,310 Philipp Oct.11,1949 2,562,057 Norberg July 24, 1951

